Comoros - Election 2020 - Comoran Assembly of the Union
The Comoros islands - Anjouan, Grande Comore and Moheli - has been prone to coups and political insurrection since its independence from France in 1975. The fourth Comoros island, Mayotte, remains French. Comoros, with about 800,000 people and a $600 million economy, had more than 20 coups or attempts at seizing power since it gained independence. The Assembly of the Union contains 33 seats, of which 24 are directly elected. The mandate of the outgoing legislature elected in December 2009 was due to expire in April 2014. However, in order to hold parliamentary elections in parallel with those to the assemblies of the three islands of the Union, the parliamentary elections were scheduled for November 2014. Both elections were then postponed to December 2014, then to January (first round) and February 2015 (run-offs) for unspecified reasons.
Voters in Comoros cast their ballots 19 January 2020 in the first round of a parliamentary election boycotted by opposition parties. Most voting stations in the Indian Ocean archipelago's capital, Moroni, opened later than scheduled because of bad weather. Opposition parties said they would not contest the 24 seats in the Comoros national assembly after failing to obtain guarantees of a "transparent, free and democratic" election.
President Azali Assoumani secured a second consecutive term in March 2019, but critics alleged vote rigging and witnesses said ballot boxes were stuffed, the latest scandal in a country blighted by instability and coups. The president, who denied the allegations, had urged the opposition to drop the boycott threat in the run-up to the vote, saying in November that "my most ardent wish is that they come to participate in these elections because we have a lot to do".
Among the opposition's requests had been that the country's diaspora of roughly 300,000 should be allowed to vote, a demand Azali's camp said would be impossible to meet. While the absence of official opposition candidates made for a low-key election campaign, tensions appeared within the ruling coalition. Azali's governing party, the CRC, accused the Orange party of Interior Minister Mohamed Daoudou of insufficient support for their coalition.
President Assoumani's party swept to victory in the parliamentary election boycotted by the opposition, according to official results. The Convention for the Renewal of the Comoros (CRC) won 17 out of 24 legislative seats, while two other seats went to parties in the presidential coalition. A second round of voting will take place on February 23 to allocate the remaining five seats, the electoral commission said.
In a statement, opposition parties described the election as a "circus" and an "electoral masquerade", estimating a voter turnout of only about 10 percent, dismissing the electoral commission's declared estimate of 61.5 percent. "Comorans have again displayed their final rejection of the dictatorship regime by deserting the polling stations," the parties said.
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